Quebec wants more French signage
New regulations in Quebec will require businesses with non-French trademarks to display prominent French signage, whether it is a slogan, a description or a message about what’s on sale. It is now essential to act in favor of the French language which remains the common thread in Quebec’s history. Quebec government believes a wave of English trademarks threatens the province’s character.
The regulations provide businesses with three options to increase their French presence.
The trademarked name can be accompanied by a generic description or slogan. Thus, Second Cup Coffee must add “les cafes” before its name. The French can also be used to present information what is for sale inside, like a restaurant advertising its lunch menu.
About 1,900 businesses will be affected and the change will cost around $6.5 billion.
Big chains like Wall-Mart, Best Buy and Burger King will have to put on a French face. As international brands increasingly dominate the commercial landscape, English has become more visible in Quebec’s main streets and shopping malls.
A language critic said the measures are “too little, too late” and protecting the French language is not just signage but also in the workplace and among new immigrants. A similar situation is happening in Chinese-dominated Richmond City in Vancouver where some signs are without English words.
Vancouverites love to bike
A new transportation report showed that more people bike to work in Vancouver than any other major city in North America, including US cycling mecca Portland. About 10 percent of all trips to work by city residents in 2015 were by bike.
The data would put Vancouver well ahead of Portland. There is a strong correlation between fair weather and active transportation. The dry or drought weather that persisted through 2015 could explain some of the increase in biking and walking last year.
However, Vancouver is well behind transportation leader New York, where 55 percent of trips to work are made by bus, train and other forms of mass transit.
Print is alive and well in magazine format
Winnipeg-born publisher Tyler Brule of Wallpaper magazine fame went against conventional wisdom of the digital age and launched a print magazine called Monocle. He is also editor-inchief and chairman. That was 10 years ago and the magazine is thriving and appearing to negate the trend that people stopped buying and reading magazines. Monocle is the only global affairs and lifestyle publication with a 24-hour radio station, website and media brand.
Monocle is focused on business, design, culture and international affairs commonly described these days as trending. It believes in the physicality of the publication. The success of the format led to the publication of The
Escapist, a travel-oriented magazine that focuses on in-depth reportage of cities around the world. Brule even launched a hefty new book “How TO Make A Nation.” He has great faith in print, nation-building and is proud of Vancouver’s annual position near the top of Monocle’s annual quality of life rankings.
It is wonderful to know that print is not dead and there are still people who read physical magazines.
Finances of Vancouver millennials
Vancouver millennials are far worse than their counterparts across the country when it comes to discretionary income. A new report indicated that a typical millennial couple (ages 25 and 43) buying a home at an average price will have no discretionary income and will accumulate debt to around $2,745 per year after paying for essential expenses, including taxes, health care, food, utilities, transit costs, clothing and housing. It is a life that requires intelligent budgeting and spending.
By comparison, Edmonton has the highest discretionary income in Canada for a typical millennial couple, something around $47,356. It is from the report ‘’No Funds City – Why Vancouver Millennials Have the Least Amount of Discretionary Income In Canada.”
It also showed that 16 percent of families who rent in Vancouver are overcrowded in their current housing arrangement, and the overall vacancy rate for rentals in Metro Vancouver is under one per cent.
It is apparent that the solution is the creation of incentives to develop affordable, family-oriented housing and dramatically increasing support for rental housing.